Snow Drop
by Liseli Canis
Summary: A freak snowstorm in Karu Forest leads to a chance meeting between two unsuspecting people  slight citrus
1. Lutz

Snow Drop

Disclaimer: I only own Liseli, Lutz belongs to himself, and Mabinogi is property of Nexon, devCAT, and BlockParty.

It was cold again. Not the "turn up the A/C" cold, but the "This wind is going right through me" kind of cold. Karu Forest had seen better weather, this much was for sure. Pale moonlight waged war with naked trees, battling the branches for dominance over the ground, manifesting in crisscrossed shadows. Then there was that wind again. That howling bitch whipped Lutz's' overgrown cyan bangs back into his worried steel-blue eyes. His finely-tipped ears had gone numb a few hours back when that damned snow started to fall. He blamed the giants for the snow. Them and their damned continent. Traveling was particularly dangerous for elves. He had grown up n Filia, in a hot climate where the winters were hot and the summers were hotter. Twigs snapped underfoot as he trudged forth, grumbling to himself all the way. Although his ears were near-frozen, he could still pick up the sound of quiet footfalls approaching from somewhere nearby. "Damn.." he whispered to himself. He peeled back the embroidered hood from his stark red robe and cast a glance to the left. "Well, let's get this over with." He shouted. "I'm not armed. What do you want?"

The unknown figure halted in their movements and fidgeted slightly before stepping forward. 'A girl?' Lutz thought.

"I…uhm I don't mean to bother you," she said, her quiet voice cracking slightly, "but I'm sort of lost and don't know which way I should go to get to Vales." She stepped forward, carmine eyes peering out from underneath a black robe. "I was looking for a way to get to Zardine, but this blizzard caught me off guard. I'm not used to this climate." She bit her lips, hoping that this stranger would help her.

"I see," he said, reaching up to rub his ears and winced. If he couldn't find shelter soon, he'd be sure to get frostbite. "I'm afraid that I am lost too, Miss...?"

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but in that moment her words were cut off by the howling wind, as though the meeting of these two had somehow pissed off the entire storm... or at least, that's how Lutz perceived it. Then again, he was biased against giants and associated them with snow so it was quite possible that he was reading far too much into the matter. Disgruntled by the rude weather, Lutz tried again. "Sorry, I'm lost as well." he repeated. When the wind picked up yet again, he started forward and gestured for the woman to follow. He may have grown up in a desert, but he was still an elf and elves were renown for their bond with nature.

Lutz rapped his fingertips against the trunk of a particularly robust elm tree, the bark of which peeled back to reveal a deceptively large interior. He chuckled to himself. "Oh, if the folks back home knew that I still had the touch..." his voice trailed off as he crossed the doorframe. He cast a glance over his shoulder and gestured forward. "Come on, it'll close up soon." he warned. Soon enough, no sooner had the woman stepped inside, the bark yawned back into place and left no sign that it had ever budged. There was a strange aura about this place, as though it were part of an ancient Irinid Ruin. "Welcome to Karu." he mumbled. Light illuminated the room from seemingly out of nowhere but upon closer inspection, the source seemed to come from behind a yawning chasm on the far end of the room. Lutz was quick to recline against the nearest pillar and slide his way to the ground. "Sorry about all the fuss, miss...?

She could feel herself staring at the man...no..._elf_ in amazement. She reached out and touched the wall that had been a door a moment before. So engrossed with it that she almost missed what he had asked. "Oh…uhm, I'm Liseli." She smiled warmly at him, before reaching into the small bag she had been carrying, producing an orange. "It's not much, but would you like some?" The elf didn't answer at first, his brow furrowed and he seemed lost in thought. She sighed and thought about the circumstances that had led her to...what had he called this place? Karu? Alexina had told her that she was to travel to the Giant village, Vales, on a diplomatic negotiation of some kind to grant her permission to get through Irinid's barrier to reach the Zardine region of Iria.

'Adventure awaits Lis. And we explorers must conquer the unknown!' Alexina had said, while Lis inwardly grimaced. She hadn't really expected to be picked for the Exploration Unit in Uldah. All she had really wanted to do was study magic. She sighed again and started to peel her orange. "May Lymilark bless this meal." The stranger scoffed and she turned to face him, "Oh, forgive me, I gave you my name but I don't know yours." She offered him the orange again, holding her breath.

Lutz eyed the fruit with mild suspicion and with good reason. The brightly colored skin probably meant that it was poisonous. Was she trying to kill him? Was she working for the giants? Fortunately, he had no pupils so it was absolutely impossible to determine exactly where he was looking. So when he glanced back and forth between Liseli and this strange toxic fruit, he went unnoticed. "Lutz, my name is Lutz... ." he mumbled. Lutz accepted the fruit and mimicked the way she peeled her own but waited until AFTER she took a bite to see whether or not she turned blue and died. When she didn't gag or pass out, Lutz decided that maybe the fruit wasn't toxic after all, and happily sank his teeth into the orange. The experience was something entirely new to him. In Filia, fruit had milk and tasted a trifle bitter, but this was sweet, pulpy, and tangy! He absolutely devoured the stranger's gift. Moments passed with no words exchanged between them. With no snow to harass him, Lutz slipped out of his robe to reveal his exotic figure. A short, skirted tunic embraced his lean frame and revealed a generous amount of skin. The way the clothing hugged his hips drew out his slightly feminine curvature. The slipshod way he had dressed himself revealed his bare chest, smooth and broad. There was something about the lighting that made his alabaster complexion seem to shimmer.

When he had started disrobing himself, she felt her face get hot, so she turned away to hide her blush and give him some sort of privacy. She preoccupied herself with the hem of her robe, noting a small tear where it had caught on a branch. "Tch," she had never been one for tailoring. No scratch that, she was a hopeless case when it came to needlework. She pondered about asking him, but decided against it. Instead she opted to lower her hood, looking for the spare needle she used as a hair pin for her dark hair.

His eyes wandered to the tear she cradled... then to the contours of her robe, then to the decidedly womanly curve of her hips... to her ample bosom, the latter of which provoked his cheeks to turn a highly noticeable scarlet. Of course, to anyone observing him, Lutz would simply appear to be blushing for no reason since his line of sight could not be traced. By all accounts, his eyes shouldn't even work, being entirely blue and lacking iris, pupil, or retina. It was probably some of that fabled elven magic that kept his eyes working. What was worse, a modest bulge gradually formed betwixt his legs. He abruptly leapt to his feet and casually turned around, acting as though he needed to stretch in order to conceal his erection. When it didn't stop growing, Lutz turned to face her just in time for her to get an eyeful of his shame... and that's when he simply vanished from sight. It was instinct for all elves to hide in the face of immediate danger... or when they're fiercely embarrassed. Lutz remained absolutely still. He may have been invisible, but that didn't mean he couldn't be heard.

Liseli had given up on trying to sew the damn tear and when she heard her elven companion shift, she decided to simply ask him if he could help her. She saw his cheeks flush, and she blinked. Her eyes widened when she saw what had caused his sudden embarrassment. She opened her mouth to say something, when he simply vanished from sight. She stared, there wasn't a sign of him anywhere. "L...Lutz?" Normally she wasn't afraid of being alone, Lymilark knows how long she had been alone, but in an unknown place, a TREE in this case, was a whole different matter. She trembled in fear, hugging herself tightly. 'I'm scared,' she thought, shutting her eyes, and hoping that when she opened them, he would be there.

Naturally, her hope had become a reality, for when she next opened her eyes, he was visible again. Being emotionally empathic had its perks at times, but in situations like this it unfortunately caused him to feel her fear as though it were his own. It wasn't as if Lutz was especially kind of considerate. He just didn't like how rapidly she changed between emotions... at least, that's what he told himself. He had reclined beside her, back to the ground and eyes staring up at her. Out of modesty, he had covered his legs with his robe... lest he betray himself YET AGAIN. Besides, she probably hadn't seen the reason he vanished, right? Lutz was many things, but slow was not one of them. "Sorry about that. Force of habit." He remarked with a half-smirk as he smoothed down the robe.

When he had reappeared, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Taking a few more, she willed herself to calm down. "O…oh. I was uhm...wondering if you could help me with this." She slipped her robe off, it was constricting her and she needed to breathe. Underneath lay a dress of pure white, with a wings spreading out to the sleeves. It looked heavy, but was soft to the touch. She watched him warily, noting how his pupil less eyes seemed to pierce through her skin.

But what kept her unwavering attention, where his ears. She toyed with a strand of her hair, to occupy her hands from wanting to reach out and rub them like she had seen him do. 'I want to touch them." Liseli's eyes widened again, realizing she had said it out loud. She scooted away from him, ashamed. "I…I'm sorry!"

A coy smile curled across his lips in reply to her proclamation. He closed the distance between them again, and in so doing, slid out of his tunic, revealing that broad, smooth chest and firm abdomen. Again, his alabaster skin seemed to shimmer in the pale, mystical light, giving him a white aura. Tender fingers wrapped about her hand and guided it to the fine point of his left ear. "You can touch mine... if I can touch yours." He whispered. No sooner had the soft words spilled from his lips, he drew his fingertips across her rounded ear, tracing his index finger back and forth across the smooth tip. In the seconds that passed, for one reason or another, he leaned closer, and closer, and closer, until his pale lips hovered centimeters from hers. He could see himself reflected in her strange eyes for how close he was to her. Once again, a tight crease formed betwixt his legs, but this time, he couldn't care less. Instead, he took the bold step to draw his lips against hers.

Her first reaction was to push him away, but she couldn't. There was something about this man that drew her to him. 'What is this?' she asked herself, pulling him closer to her. Her grip on his shoulders loosened and found herself surrendering to his touch. His hands abandoned their posts and he wound a slender arms about her waist, cupping the small of her back with a flat palm. The other hand rose to caress her cheek. She leaned into his hand, and pressed closer to him, trailing her hands up his chest in random patterns, before lightly touching the tips of his ears. She moaned softly, relishing on how soft they felt. Skilled fingers relocated to conform to the bubbled cheeks of her rump while she toyed with his ears. He drew a hand up and down her long thigh and ventured teasingly up her skirt at which point a smile played across his lips, even in mid-kiss.

Liseli gasped when she felt those fingers venture dangerously close to the apex of her thighs. She pulled away from him, almost reluctantly, her breath coming out in ragged pants. "I...don't know what came over me..." she admitted, brushing her bangs to the side. He seemed disappointed, "uhm...it's not that...I didn't like it..." she paused. "just that...that was my first..." her voice dropped down to nearly a whisper. "first...kiss." Liseli covered her face with her hands, her ears red as cherries. Her next words came out a bit shaky, "S-so...uh...it sounds like the wind has died down a bit..."

He was taken aback by how quickly the moment between them had shifted. It left him speechless for the briefest of moments during which time he heard her say something about the wind. "Uh... yeah. Sounds like it.." He remarked, absentmindedly fidgeting with the tip of his left ear. He was quick to regain his composure and slip back into his robe, if for no other reason than to conceal his ears beneath the hood. The ears were always the first to get cold, and once Liseli had stopped provoking them, they started to go numb again. Normally he loathed being singled out because of his ears, or his hair, or his pale skin.. but Liseli had a sincerity about her that made her come across as inoffensive and pure if not a tad bit awkward. Lutz closed the distance between them, his heels clicking beneath the cobblestone floor. Those long, slender fingers extended to the rough bark wall and as if the tree bent to his will, peeled back to reveal the outside world. Snow still stained the ground, but Liseli was right: the wind had stopped. He turned back to face her and held out his hand. "You coming?"

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A/N: collaberative work between Liseli (me) and my boyfriend (Lutz)


	2. Liseli

**Liseli**

Disclaimer: still don't own mabinogi, and Lutz is still his own person

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Liseli followed him cautiously, tightening the belted cord around her robe. The cold was unforgiving, almost slamming into her like a sledgehammer.

She shivered a bit, but said nothing as she struggled to follow her male companion. Alexina had said that elves were not only known for their nearly flawless archery skills and magical abilities, but also for their speed.

She could see know that Alexina had not been kidding. In the time it took her to take four steps, Lutz had taken ten. And to make matters worse, she tripped over a fallen branch. She tripped and crashed into Lutz, dragging him down to the snowy forest floor.

"Owowow..."

Almost as quickly as he'd fallen down, Lutz was on his feet again. It wasn't that Lutz was especially fast at self-righting himself so much as his just hated the cold and the sudden fall had startled him. To make matters worse, he had once again gone into hiding... for much good it did him, for each time he took a step, the footprints in the snow betrayed him to Liseli. It was almost comical how quickly those little footprints appeared in the snow. Lutz was obviously under the impression that he had been knocked down by something dangerous and was now patrolling the area to see what it was. Suddenly it occurred to him that it may have been his companion... and sure enough, as soon as he cast a glance over his shoulder, there she was. He dropped out of hiding and scurried over to her as fast as his elven legs could carry him to offer her his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry~" he blurted out and anxiously helped her to her feet

"No, I'm sorry," she said, rubbing her sore hip. "I'm used to this." It was true, she was clumsy and even Ranald had almost given up hope in teaching her any type of swordsmanship. She had hoped that by coming to Iria, she would have been able to better herself.

Liseli looked around, not entirely too sure if they were even going in a sensible direction, when she noticed a branch that had a piece of fabric caught on it. She cursed, and looked around. "Dammit, we've been going around in circles haven't we?"

"I don't think...so.." his voice trailed off. Lutz hadn't really been paying much attention to where they were going. He was distracted with... other things. All the landmarks he had been going by before he met her had been covered in snow. "Yeah... I think we're lost." As much as he hated to admit it, Lutz was young by elven standards and hadn't yet mastered the whole 'Being one with nature' thing. "Maybe we should set up camp in Karu until the snow dies down?" he suggested.

"I..I guess," her cheeks turned bright red, as she recalled what had happened earlier. She could still feel his lithe fingers, a searing hot touch. She quickly chased those thoughts away and tried to remember the way back to the elm tree. The snowfall had gotten thicker, and she could barely see more than a foot away from her face.

The snow was merciless. That dreaded white powder blasted against his face and froze the tips of his ears. He adjusted his muffler to cover his cold nose. He could have sworn he heard Liseli shout out to him... or was that the wind howling again? The one thought that kept him warm was of how she toyed with his ears. That thought kept his blood pumping and his ears from completely freezing over. Finally he spotted the tree. His lungs were too cold to shout out to her. He just barreled against the trunk and fell through the opening. He curled his knees to his chest and shivered once he fell inside. How did the giants handle this kind of weather... or humans for that matter? Humans were so bland and unremarkable... or so he had thought up until an hour ago.

She could barely make him out, thank the Gods for his red robe. She struggled to make her way over to him, snow sticking to her hair and melting. A few moments later, she grasped the edge of the makeshift door, and dragged herself inside.

She fell to her knees, shivering and hugging herself to rub warmth back into her aching body. She glanced around, and found him lying in a fetal position.

She remembered what Nora had once told her about what to do in a situation like this.

'You'll have to use body heat,' Nora said, throwing the freshly washed blanket over the drying pole. "Papa once got stuck in fierce snow storm with Ferghus, and they had no choice." She chuckled. 'Imagine that? Two grown men cuddling to keep warm!'

Liseli mentally slapped herself, this wasn't the time to be reminiscing! She crawled over to Lutz and pulled him into a tight embrace. She glanced up at the ceiling and hoped that the storm would die down soon.

He imagined the warm winter sand outside of Meles' house. How both she and Lutz would make sand-angels and bury each other... and how warm it was... wait... Warm? Yes, he was getting warmer. Lutz peeked out from behind near-frozen eyelids to find himself snugly secure against his companion. He was at least half-a-head shorter than she was, and as such he found himself resting his chin upon her bosom. Realizing this, a sudden furious blush rose to make his alabaster cheeks glow. Well, at least he wasn't cold anymore. But the sudden change in temperature had made him sleepy. An elf's physiology wasn't quite as hardy as humans or giants. Lutz snaked his arms around her waist and settled against her breast, clinging to her for warmth and shutting his eyes.

She had actually fallen asleep after coming into contact with him. So when he nuzzled against her, she just shifted, pulling him even closer.

And as they slept, unaware and oh so warm, the snow outside continued to howl.


	3. To Filia

**Chapter 3**

A/N: This chapter almost didn't get finished, seeing that Lutz decided to drop the story. Luckily, a friend of mine was willing to help.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mabi, if I did, the servers wouldn't crash as often.

Far in the distance, a tree succumbed to the vicious winds and came trembling down. To anyone else, the sound may have gone unnoticed. But for an elf... "Aaah!" he cried out and jolted awake, snapping his head back from the safety of her bosom and staring up at the stairway. When nothing came of the sound, Lutz relaxed, figuring that he had just imagined the sound. When he glanced back down, he found himself held in her embrace, the thought of which made him quite embarrassed, mostly because he couldn't for the life of him remember how he had come to be in her arms. His eyes wandered over her face, admiring it's gentle curvature... and to her ears. Those exotic round tips were tempting him again. He gently brushed her hair back and affectionately stroked those rounded tips.

Something was brushing against her ears, and she sleepily batted the offending object away. "Go 'way, Nicca." She was still tired, and she didn't want to deal with the flirtatious golden haired man who hit on anything with a skirt on. Again there was that touch, and she snapped up, ready to put the damn flirt in his place.

"I said go awa-!" she stopped when she saw Lutz sitting next to her, his hands positioned in front of him. "O...Oh! I'm sorry! I thought you were this guy..." she paused. "A…anyway...are you feeling all right?"

Lutz toyed with the thought of asking to touch her ears again, but decided against it. "Uh... yeah I'm good. A little tired, but good." he replied, obviously a tad distracted. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he abruptly turned his back from her. He had to get back to Filia to complete his right of passage into adulthood. Then Castanea would tell him about the changes he was going through... although he was beginning to get an idea of what some of those changes were. Lutz tried his best to smooth down his robe before turning to face her again. "Hey, I know this is sudden.. but would you like to go home with me? To Filia, I mean."

Liseli thought about it. From the way he was dressed, she would guess that he lived in a subtropical area.

"Feelia?" she repeated. "I don't mind." Her eyes strayed toward the door. "If you really want me to go along that is."

Lutz smiled, "If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking, now would I?" He touched his ears again, looking at her. "And, there's something I wanted to ask you." She gave him a questioning look, "It's silly, but would you tell me why would you go to a snowy place like Vales?"

She grimaced, "I'm not too fond of giants, but I have to speak with their blacksmith. Alexina, the leader of the Iria Exploration Expedition said she needed some information about Irinid's Barrier, whatever that is. Apparently it leads to an area called Zardine, where a different sect of the Expedition had disappeared to."

Lutz frowned, _Irinid's Barrier? Damn the giants to hell if the imprisoned my Goddess! _He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the wind that continued to howl. "Hmm, I see." Standing up he strode over to the door and placed his hand on the gnarled wood. "The storm will let up soon."

"How soon?"

"Soon enough," he sat back down, pulling out a worn-out book and riffling through the pages. He paused at a drawing of a sun. _Kaypi Canyon? How far is that?_ His ears twitched at the sound of growling. Not an animalistic growl more like a…he turned to look at Liseli, who flushed in embarrassment.

"Ah…ahahaha…" she giggle nervously and held her growling stomach. "I didn't pack enough food for the trip. That orange was the last of my rations. Heuffryn said that there would be enough to last me halfway and then I'd have to hunt for my food. He also said that wild hazelnut mushrooms grow in Karu at night."

"It's true. The light from Eweca causes them to grow at an alarming rate. By dawn they disappear though. Speaking of which, the storm is over." He rapped his knuckles against the tree and it opened once more, filling the room with blinding light.

They stepped out, squinting against the rays of the sun, before their eyes adjusted to the light. The snow had ceased to fall, and the world lay blanketed in white.

"Filia is in that direction," Lutz said, pointing west. "There is a canyon there that has several bridges. Hopefully they are still intact."

"What do you mean by that?" She had never gone farther than the mysterious flower mark in the central region of Rano.

He smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. "In order to prevent the giants to infiltrate Filia, my village chief created a few bridges that connects Rano and Connous. They only stay intact for a week though, then someone has to reconnect them. If they aren't there, I have this," he reached into his robe and pulled out a small stone. "It's a spirit stone."

Liseli stared at it, "It's pretty." She reached out, wanting to touch the stone, but Lutz withdrew. Shoving the stone back into his pocket he started for the door. "We should get going."

She nodded, and quickly gathered her things. "Right.." She shouldered her small pack and followed him outside.

As soon as she stepped out of the tree, it shimmered, and disappeared. Liseli gasped and almost tripped over feet, dropping her pack. "W-What happened?"

"Mm, looks like it's decided to move to a different place again. Karu Dungeon never stays in one place for too long." He stared up at the cloudless sky, _I hope it stays like this. I don't think I can last much longer if we get caught like that again._

He shook his head and waited patiently for the human to repack the items that had fallen. His eyes fell on one item in particular. It looked like a ring. No matter, he had plenty of time to find out more about her. All in due time_._

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So my new partner in crime is named Tenjou. Please be nice to him. XD


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